07.19.12 | NORTHAMPTON -- Arraignment in District Court of Megan R. Bonny, left with her lawyer, John Drake, and Lance M. Gouvan and his lawyer, Jonah Goldsmith, on attempted murder of a 9-year-old girl.

UPDATE, Sept. 12, 2012: The Northwestern District Attorney's Office has dropped attempted murder and kidnapping charges against Lance M. Gouvan, telling the court it does not have evidence to support the charges. Gouvan still faces charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault and battery.

UPDATE, 1:30 p.m.: Both Lance Gouvan and Megan Bonny denied the charges at their arraignment Friday. They are being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Tuesday, July 24.

NORTHAMPTON -- A 9-year-old girl escaped serious injury yesterday afternoon after a 34-year-old man and 26-year-old woman allegedly hitched her jump rope to a tree limb, tied the free end around her neck and left her standing on the tips of her toes for a period of time.

Police Capt. Scott A. Savino said the suspects, who gave their addresses as the streets of Northampton, were arrested a short time later on Main Street and charged wih attempted murder and other charges. Savino identified the pair as Lance M. Gouvan and Megan R. Bonny.

The two were held in lieu of $100,000 bail overnight and are slated to be arraigned today in District Court.

The incident began about 12:50 p.m. at 78 Pomeroy Terrace, home to a residential program for youth run by Cutchins Programs known as the Northampton Center for Children and Families.

The girl, originally accompanied by a staff member, went down to a lower field area on the property to play with her jump rope, Savino said.

For some reason, the staff member began to walk back toward the building and the girl continued to jump rope on her own. Soon after, the two suspects, Gouvan wearing an orange backpack and Bonny a pink one, walked out from the woods and onto the eastern side of the field, Savino said.

Gouvan then picked up an orange traffic cone that was in the field, used it like a megaphone and shouted an obscenity at the girl, Savino said. The girl later told police that she heard the woman tell the man to take away her jump rope and tie her to a tree, he said.

Gouvan quickly approached the little girl, pulled the jump rope out of her hands and grabbed the back of her head, Savino said. He then dragged the girl by her hair some 20 feet towards the an area with overhanging tree limbs, he said.

The girl told police that Gouvan told her that “if she made a sound or tried to move he would punch her in the face,” Savino said.

Gouvan tied one end of the jump rope to a tree limb, grabbed the girl by the hair for a second time, pulled her up and tied the free end of the jump rope around her neck, Savino said. The pair then left the girl hanging there -- supported only by the tips of her toes -- and fled on foot towards Pomeroy Terrace, Savino said.

The staff member, returning to the scene, spotted the suspects as they ran away and untied the girl. Savino said she had no visible injuries and that both she and staff members told responding emergency personnel that she did not need medical treatment.

Police spotted the suspects about 90 minutes later near the Synergy store at 197 Main St. and arrested them. Both were still wearing their distinctive backpacks, Savino said.

Both the girl and the staff member positively identified the suspects, Savino said.

Savino said police, who continue to probe the case, do not believe that race is a factor. Both the suspects and the victims are white, he said.

The suspects were also charged with kidnapping of a child, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault and battery, Savino said.

Gouvan was arrested on a warrant in Holyoke in July, 2011. At the time, he had a Monson address, police records show. In August 2011, he was arrested in Northampton on a warrant from Westfield District Court.

In May, 2012, Gouvan was the subject of a feature story in the Daily Hampshire Gazette after he launched an initiative to clean up a wooded area in Northampton where homeless people camp.

Gouvan can be found soliciting donations for the charitable website GiveForward. In it, Gouvan writes of his desire to clean up both the Earth and his life.

The entry, which states it was organized by Bonny, has raised $10 towards its stated goal of $200.

It includes the following quote from Gouvan. "The town that I live in appears nice to tourists, but I see how dirty certain parts of it actually are. There are spots along the bike path that are dangerous and people could really get hurt if nothing is done."

The woods near Pomeroy Terrace have long been dotted with tents and camp sites where some of the city's homeless population lives during the warmer months of the year.